WHO WE ARE
Droscha Sugarbush is a family-owned maple syrup business located on the Droscha centennial homestead in Mason, Michigan. We’ve been making pure maple syrup the old-fashioned way for more than 100 years. These days, our sugarbush has grown to also become a local maple incubator, providing custom boiling, bottling, and labeling for over 6,000 taps from our neighbors and more than half of all the sap collected each season.
Our business is built on four commitments:
Family first. Family is the foundation of Droscha Sugarbush. Our craft, perfected and passed down through generations, is firmly upheld to this day to produce maple syrup the way we’ve always made it, through hard work and commitment to a high quality finished product.
Keep it simple. Our maple products are produced simply and traditionally – Fresh maple sap, hardwood fire, and filters – no shortcuts and no substitutes.
Loyal to local commerce. We make every effort to source supplies and sell our maple products at local farmer markets, stores, and restaurants. We support the development of other maple brands from neighbor ‘sappers’ who want to bring their product to market.
Sustainable practices. Much of our family history was written in our maple groves. Knowing that our ancestors tapped many of the same maple trees reminds us to continue to preserve the legacy for future generations by sustainably managing our woodlots.
MEET THE FAMILY
Bryan & Apryl Droscha
Bryan, also known as Sugar Daddy around the Sugarbush, has produced maple syrup his entire life, sustaining the craft of past generations while incorporating new tools and devices to make the process less laborious whenever possible. Bryan runs the operation in the sugarhouse, coordinating intake of sap, keeping the fire roaring, and checking each batch of syrup that comes off the evaporator.
From leading tours to greeting the neighbors, seeing Sugar Daddy is certainly a must for the Droscha Sugarbush experience. Apryl keeps all the various sap crews fed during the season and handles online orders all year long. Bryan also serves on the Mason School Board, is the Mason FFA Alumni Chapter President, and is always there to lend a hand for the local community. Bryan and Apryl live on the Droscha Family Homestead where they raise beef cattle, produce hay, and chase grandchildren around.
CASEY & SHELBY DROSCHA
Casey is the middle child. He and his wife Shelby have two young daughters Charley and Sloan. Casey administers the business, handling corporate accounts, licensing, and product development. During the production season, Casey maintains vacuum pump systems during the day and boils third shift late into the morning.
Outside of the Sugarbush Casey directs Research & Development for CentralStar Cooperative developing diagnostics and other tools for dairy and beef producers. Shelby, employed by GreenStone Farm Credit Services, and the girls love the sweet smells or the sugarhouse and are excited to join Daddy in the woods in the coming years.
JESSICA & JUSTIN STAHL
Jessica, the eldest sibling and husband Justin, with daughters Elizabeth and Mckinley aid in just about every facet of the sugarbush, from splitting wood, tapping trees, collecting sap, bottle syrup and delivering to local stores. Jessica’s passion is teaching young children.
During the day she oversees a preschool building of 6 classrooms and over 100 children. Justin spends his day at MSU as a Occupational Industrial Hygienist overseeing the health and safety of MSU employees. Elizabeth and Mckinley enjoy helping with the syrup operation. They have recently started their own sheep flock which they raise as 4-H projects for the Ingham County Fair each August.
BRYCE & CHELSEA DROSCHA
Bryce, fourth generation and the youngest of the three Droscha siblings. He and his wife, Chelsea, have three rambunctious boys, Eli and his little twin brothers, Oliver, and Liam. They are the first set of twins born into the Droscha Family over 100 years when Papa Willson and Wilda were born in 1914, three years after the Droscha Family Homestead was established in Mason, MI.
Bryce is the mechanic of the family, maintaining all chainsaws, pumps and anything with a piston keeping them in tiptop shape. Bryce can also be found in woods building tubing systems and helping bring in more and more sap each year. Chelsea helps maintain our website, online stores, and product packaging. While the boys may be small, there is always time to show the youngsters the Droscha Sugarbush way of life. As a family, they enjoy attending car shows, watching tractor pulls, and riding 4-wheelers at the farm.